A postal carrier in San Jose recently happened upon a rattlesnake along his route, and now residents in the Almaden Valley neighborhood aren’t getting their mail delivered.
Residents along two streets in the neighborhood admit they have seen rattlesnakes in the past. But since a mail carrier saw one, delivery has been stopped.
Dave Long has lived here in the area for decades, and it's the first time he’s not getting the mail delivered to his house. He and his neighbors along Montego Court and Montego Drive received a letter from their postal carrier, saying that because of rattlesnakes in the area, they will no longer get mail.
"I’ve lived here since 1988. I have seen one rattlesnake, one time. That’s not a huge danger," Long said. "You’ll notice I don’t even have shoes on."
Neighbors admit they’ve seen snakes on rare occasions. But they also let their kids play outside without worry.
"It’s just one person that complains about that and having all these consequences for the people in the neighborhood that don’t get their mail delivered," resident Jorunn Wiklund said.
The postal service told NBC Bay Area it's hoping for a solution soon but stresses that carrier safety is extremely important and that the local carrier has encountered a rattlesnake in the neighborhood.
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For the time being, residents must go to the post office to get their mail.
"We were very upset because most of us are retired, and to go and get your mail every day at the post office, it’s just ridiculous," resident Kathy Rahnema said.
The postal service said it is hoping to come up with a compromise of some sort soon. It is inviting neighbors to talk about the issue at a nearby post office next Thursday.
